I was listening to a segment on NPR a few hours ago, that was discussing a ruling in New Hampshire that legalized civil unions for same-sex couples. Naturally, it was a contentious issue, one that riled up people on both sides. But, the more I listened to those who are opposed to same-sex unions, the more confused I became. The reason one guy gave for being against the civil unions had nothing to do with religion, or morality, or anything like that. He basically just finds gay people gross. He didn’t understand why gay people even exist. Listening to the program, I was shocked. I’m not trying to sound naive. I understand that there are ignorant people in the world. I understand that people are scared of things they don’t understand. But, it still bothers me. Gay people are human, just like straight people. They harm nobody by pursuing relationships with each other. And yet, people still seem to want to tell them not to do what comes naturally.

I guess this just comes down to my general attitude of civil libertarianism (small-l). If a person isn’t harming someone else, and their personal relations are between consenting adults, then they should be able to do pretty much what they want. Seems simple enough to me, and yet so many people don’t get it. One person complained that “this lifestyle is being forced on us,” or something of that nature. Really? I wanted to ask the guy who was forcing him to marry another man. I want to know why people feel so threatened by gay people being able to have legal civil unions.

I honestly do understand most of these attitudes come from ignorance and fear, but it doesn’t make it right. I just wish I knew what we could do to help people get over their fears. Because right now, fear often dictates legislation, and that is where our civil liberties become infringed. That to me is much scarier than whether or not consenting adults wish to engage in legal and completely harmless relationships.